Thursday, January 22, 2015

I don't know about you, but in my "neck of the woods" grocery stores have started charging for bags. The idea is great in theory, but terrible in practice. Aside from the obvious problem of having a bunch of bags flying around in your car all the time, I believe the practice of charging for bags actually hurts the environment.

In the past, I recycled cans and bottles by putting them in the used paper bags I received from grocery stores. Now I don't have any place to put this crap. When I toss my beer cans in the street I place the blame squarely on my city's ridiculous bag policy.

Another problem with charging for bags is that now I am way more upset when a bag breaks. When one of the handles breaks off of my flimsy paper bag and my food smashes to the ground all I can think is, "I paid for this damn bag?!" I'm no lawyer but I'm pretty sure that if I've been sold a defective product, I'm entitled to some type of compensation from the offending company. I'd settle for one of those kick-ass motorized shopping carts, or free steaks for life.

Bag images courtesy of American Beauty

So instead of buying bags, do what I do. Say "no" when asked if you want to purchase bags, then grab a stack on the way out of the store. Sure, you'll look like an asshole bagging your own groceries in the parking lot, but just think about how many nickels you'll be saving!